


Casual Forms of Intimacy

by WhenTheMoonShines



Series: Better creatures could love you, I know. [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (love that tag lol), (will edit later at some point), Bisexual Brock Rumlow, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Good Brock Rumlow, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, STRIKE is Not Hydra, Slow Burn, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:42:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23198776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenTheMoonShines/pseuds/WhenTheMoonShines
Summary: If someone asked Brock Rumlow how he knew he was in love with Jack Rollins he wouldn't know how to answer. Affection comes gradually when you're used to being shot at. One day it just sat there in his rib-cage like the muscle allowing him to breathe, and if you tried to take it from him he would choke.Someone said that if two characters have to kiss for you to know they are together, then you're doing it wrong. If you pair that with a list of non-sexual intimacy that I found at some point... Then you get this.
Relationships: Brock Rumlow & Others, Jack Rollins & Brock Rumlow, Jack Rollins/Brock Rumlow
Series: Better creatures could love you, I know. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665619
Kudos: 3





	Casual Forms of Intimacy

**Author's Note:**

> Each chapter is a snapshot of Brock Rumlow's relationships, set to the backdrop of being a SHIELD agent and later STRIKE Commander. Main focus on the Brock/Jack relationship, but the rest of the STRIKE team Alpha and some side characters sneak up too.
> 
> This has been in my draft folder for over a week now, maybe it's time to let it go. Edits can always be done later. 
> 
> **Specific warnings will be posted in the chapter descriptions.**  
>  **Chapter warning:**  
>  \- homophobic comment (and 1 direct slur) by background characters.

When Brock was made Commander of his own STRIKE team, he had two conditions. Firstly, there would never be more than ten members in his team. Secondly, Brock would handpick every single one of them. The team changed members every now and again, but the rules held, and Brock’s STRIKE team came to have the lowest mortality rate of all STRIKE teams in SHIELD history.

The STRIKE branch of SHIELD wasn’t easy to get into in the first place, but the Alpha team became increasingly difficult to get a place on with Commander Rumlow handpicking his operatives. An order from above said STRIKE Alpha had to have at least seven operatives on each mission. They did, however, fail to specify that Brock couldn’t count himself as one of the operatives. Which he did. One spot on the team was also often filled with a “guest appearance” of Clint Barton or some other trusted agent that Brock knew personally.

It took Commander Rumlow three months to establish his first version of STRIKE team Alpha: it included Emmet Smith, Jack Rollins and William Johnson, among other less permanent STRIKE operators. Clint Barton became an honorary STRIKE team Alpha member after Brock lost a bet at the monthly Barton Barbeque. The spot on the team was well deserved though, with Clint having been paired up with the team on several missions. After a while the Barton Barbeque (that first had been only Brock and the Bartons) turned into a STRIKE dinner with any operative that had stayed with the team for more than eight months.

At the beginning there were two extra spots in STRIKE that needed to be filled for every mission. Emmet liked to call those two operatives ‘the temps’ because they usually didn’t stay with the team for long. Robin Murphy had been a temp who, to everyone’s surprise, had stuck around for more than a year.

A sure way to get into STRIKE team Alpha seemed to be to know Commander Rumlow personally. At least that was what people said. Brock had after all been friends with both William Jonson and Emmet Smith before forming his team. It was also widely assumed Brock had known his second in command Jack Rollins for ages because there had been no question of who would get the position when the team was formed.

\--

Everyone always thought Jack Rollins and Brock Rumlow had grown up together. _They must have_ , some agents said, _they’re attached to the hip_. But they weren’t though, not before the mission in Anquic.

Brock and Jack had only known each other a few months before Anquic and despite how they met they hadn’t been more than respected colleagues working on different STRIKE teams. Jack remembered someone from his own team, STRIKE team Bravo, pointing out Agent Rumlow for a few of the guys at the table. Agent Rumlow and Agent Smith had saved the Alpha team during their last mission and their heroics was the most recent talk in the dining hall. From afar Jack could only tell Brock was short, had black hair and walked with the confidence of a man who could defend himself. It wasn’t something unusual among STRIKE operatives though.

And to be honest, Agent Rumlow looked a bit like a dick. Brock had laughed loudly and didn’t seem to care that people were talking about him.

\--

Emmet Smith had been on the Alpha team with Brock back when the team was led by Commander Caplan. The two agents got along and were often teaming up for patrols and other tasks while on duty. Emmet was also one of the few people Brock spend time with outside of missions.

All of that was of course before the mission in Anquic.

Emmet would have been in Anquic too, if not for a sprained ankle and a broken collarbone. Brock came back from Anquic as the only surviving member of the Alpha team. Afterwards SHIELD thought about removing the team name from the lists but Brock insisted on keeping it when he was told he could form his own STRIKE team. Emmet was the first to apply for a position on the Alpha team under its new commander. William Johnson hadn’t been far behind.

Apart from Clint, William was the Alpha team member who had known Brock the longest. Brock and William had started at the SHIELD academy at the same time and got along after realising they had been stationed in the same warzone but on different tours. William was ex-military like Brock and had served as an EOD – an explosive’s expert – before being approached by SHIELD and deciding not to sign up for the next tour. Agent Johnson was the first and only Alpha operative lost on duty while on an assignment with Commander Rumlow.

There was something wrong about how Billy died. Brock could never really get over it.

Amanda ‘Mandy’ Johnson, William’s younger sister, joined STRIKE a few months after William’s death. Brock had been reluctant to accept her as a temp and denied her application twice before Jack had gone behind his back to approve it. Mandy had suddenly showed up for a mission and Brock pretended it had been his plan all along. The mission was time sensitive and they didn’t have time to turn the quinjet around and drop her off.

\---

Brock and Jack officially met a few days later in the locker room of the gym. Their two teams had been stationed at the SHIELD facility for a joint training camp where they more or less had been pitted against each other to create some ‘friendly rivalry’.

Angry voices and a body being shoved against a locker made Jack sigh and turn off the water in the shower. It wouldn’t be the first time he broke up a fight in the locker room and he swore he would report Jackson and Lowe this time if they were at it again.

“I don’t see your usual bitch around”, someone Jack didn’t know said. The words were sharp, threatening.

“Or maybe you’re the bitch Rumlow” someone else said, curled around a too friendly smile. “I heard you like it up the ass.”

Jack rounded a row of lockers and caught the tail end of two guys from the Alpha team trying to corner Agent Rumlow. Brock had been changing into his workout clothes and stood with his back completely bare and half turned towards the two men.

“Can’t have my bitches here if they’re busy fucking each other”, Brock spoke in a conversational tone and slowly closed his open locker. He turned to the darker haired man, “Why don’t you send my love to your little sister and daddy for me, huh?”

The reaction was immediate, but Brock was prepared.

Jack didn’t have time to do anything when a knife appeared out of nowhere and came charging against Brock’s bare stomach. It got knocked out of course and it barely took seconds for Brock to overpower his attacker. The second agent on the side swore and growled out “Fucking faggot”, before producing his own knife.

The dark-haired agent had been kicked backwards by Brock and lost his footing. The agent knocked his head on a bench by the lockers on his way down to the floor. He didn’t get up.

The other man with the knife didn’t go down as easily. Jack still didn’t have time to do anything before the man was on the ground with his arm twisted uncomfortably behind his back. The knife now pointed at the blonder agent’s throat and his face was pressed uncomfortably against the concrete floor.

“You should get your fact straight”, Brock said. He didn’t seem to notice that blood was slowly running down his own arm from a gash in the shoulder. “Technically _‘_ faggot’ only applies to homosexuals and”, Brock slammed the knife handle down on the man’s neck, “I’m bisexual.”

With the two attackers now out cold Brock relaxed. That was of course when he looked around and saw Jack kneeling by the unconscious agent further away. “You want a round too?” Brock stood up and looked like he had every intention of following up on that challenge.

Jack snorted. “I’m just here for moral support”, he continued to check for the agent’s pulse. The dark-haired agent had a bleeding gash on the side of his head but would probably wake up with only a concussion.

“Yeah?” Brock wiped his face with the back of his hand and stepped over to his locker. “For whom?”

“Sure as hell not these guys.”

Brock rummaged through his locker and produced two military grade zip-ties, tossing one of them over to Jack who easily caught it. Jack cuffed the agent at his feet and watched Brock carelessly drag the other agent over to the bench. “Fucking homophobes”, Brock muttered as he zipped the makeshift handcuffs. Jack barely blinked when Brock finished by spitting at the unconscious men.

“Sorry for not stepping in earlier, but you seemed like you had it under control.”

They were both half naked and someone had just tried to kill one of them. Jack wasn’t sure what the protocol for these kinds of situations were. Brock was however back at his locker and started pulling on his socks, followed by his boots.

“Moral support for me then?” Jack liked that. Liked the cheeky grin. The quick mouth.

“Sure. I would’ve beaten them up for free during different circumstances.”

“Is that so”, Brock swept his eyes over Jack to size him up. “Brock Rumlow”, he then introduced himself and reached out a hand for Jack to shake.

“Jack Rollins”.

“You’re in Bravo, right?”

Jack nodded but his mind was occupied with the gash in Brock’s shoulder. Force of habit. “I’ve got a kit in my locker for that”, he nodded at Brock’s shoulder.

“It’s not too bad”, Brock shrugged.

“Might need stitches”, Jack said. It was up to Brock really, but Jack had been a combat medic and usually knew what kind of wounds that could use stitches. Plus, there was the risk of muscle damage. “Come on Agent, let me fix you up”.

Brock made some kind of agreeing sound and Jack gave him a quick smile and a tap on the arm before stalking over to his own locker. Jack quickly dressed himself in boxers and trousers before joining Brock on the bench with his first-aid kit.

“I bet someone’ll be here in a few minutes”, Brock kept an eye on his captives still unconscious on the floor. SHIELD had plenty of cameras around and a team would be sent to investigate as soon as something happened, or if the cameras for some reason went black. Brock was right.

Less than a minute later the room seemed to be stormed by fully armed SHIELD agents.

“What the hell is going on here?!” The Agent in charge demanded. All weapons were lowered on his signal and the Agent in charge came over to Brock and Jack.

“Twain over there tried to gut me with a knife”, Brock answered and nodded towards the darker-haired agent on the floor. Agent Twain was groaning and had started to gain consciousness again. “I don’t think I was supposed to come out of here alive. They’ve been after me for weeks. I took care of it.”

“Get them out of here”, the Agent in charge ordered and the cuffed agents were lifted off the floor. “You’re Agent Rumlow, right?” Brock nodded. “We were alerted that the cameras in the room were disabled. Why have they been after you?”

“You tell me. Those two have been keeping an eye on me since my team came back. They’ve been extra pissed at me since I found out they had a bullshit excuse to sit out the last mission.” No wonder Brock had been so prepared for an ambush.

“Did you report it?”

“Never got the chance”, Brock looked up at the Agent in charge, “could’ve just been the usual work harassment until today.” Jack let out a disagreeing grunt but otherwise stayed silent and finished off the stitch he was making.

“And who are you, agent?” The question was directed at Jack.

“My moral support”, Brock quickly answered for him, making Jack snort despite trying not to.

“Agent Jack Rollins, STRIKE operative.”

Brock still has that scar. He thinks about it sometimes, when they’re leaning over a map on the table and their shoulders bump together for a second; of course Brock has worse scars in other places but out of all the marks he has, this one wasn’t too bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a tumblr post that listed non-sexual forms of intimacy, all of which will be chapter titles.


End file.
